


From the Mouths of Babes (and Socially Awkward Au Ra)

by sparklyfaerie



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Anxiety, F/M, Obliviousness, Pining, Playing a bit fast and loose with canon, Set during the Eden's Gate storyline, but mostly canon compliant, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24005671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklyfaerie/pseuds/sparklyfaerie
Summary: Thancred liked to believe himself to be skilled in reading the fairer sex, and yet he’d had no idea that one of the women he held in the highest esteem had ever so much as considered him beyond a professional relationship. The knowledge that she had spoken out of… of love for him was like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head.
Relationships: Onesided Warrior of Light (Male)/Warrior of Light (Female), Warrior of Light/Thancred Waters
Kudos: 19





	From the Mouths of Babes (and Socially Awkward Au Ra)

The Wandering Stairs was one of the liveliest places in the Crystarium. In the wake of the defeat of Hades, Thancred had found that it was a pleasant place to spend his time while Ryne was at lessons or off running errands. It had a pleasant atmosphere, with good food and drink, and decent company if one were so inclined. He had spoken to most of the regulars, including the bounty hunters that the Warriors of Light had dealt with to take down the Cardinal Virtues, and found himself enjoying socialising for the first time in years. He supposed, if he were honest, that his time on the road had left him with little time to appreciate the quiet moments spent with pleasant company and good drink.

In fact, the night before he, Urianger, Ryne, and Astra were due to begin their expedition into the Empty, he found himself sat at a table with two of the Warriors, watching the other two as they socialised across the room. N’ratu, as was his wont, was following the diminutive blonde hyur like a devoted pup, adoration plain as day on his face. Thancred had honestly forgotten how long the younger man had been pining for his fellow Warrior of Light, who seemed utterly unaware of his attentions.

“The boy is hopeless.” Thancred’s female companion, Relle, chuckled into her drink.

“Indeed.” He smiled. “I wonder that he hasn’t simply asked to court her yet.” The two of them were good enough friends that Thancred could see it working. They’d known each other for years and spent enough time together.

Arikata shook his head. “I suppose he knows it is because her love for you would prevent her from reciprocating his affections.”

Thancred choked on his drink. “Her _what_?!”

“Arikata!” Relle cried. “You can’t just _tell_ people’s _secrets_ like that!”

“But I thought you were aware.” The au ra frowned at him from across the table, confusion writ plain on his scaled features.

“I most certainly was _not_!” He spluttered, thumping his chest as he tried to expel some of the ale he’d inhaled in his shock.

“But she said you were not interested in her.” Arikata continued blithely. “I assumed that to mean that she had confessed and you had turned her down.”

“By the Twelve, she was inferring based on his behaviour!” Relle gave Arikata a withering look. “You’ve been in Eorzea for _five years_ and you still can’t tell when something is a secret or not?!”

“My apologies.” The xaela shifted nervously, realising that he’d made yet another social gaffe. His upbringing in the East had prepared him poorly for the nuances of Western social interaction. Usually, it was funny. Sometimes, endearing. Others, like then, completely mortifying for at least one person. “I simply—”

Relle heaved a sigh, her hand covering her face. Her inky black hair formed a curtain between her and the men. “Well, now you’ve let the coeurl out of the bag.”

Thancred didn’t know what to say as Relle upbraided the other man, utterly flabbergasted. He liked to believe himself to be skilled in reading the fairer sex, and yet he’d had no idea that one of the women he held in the highest esteem had ever so much as considered him beyond a friendly, professional relationship. The idea that Astra had secretly been holding a torch for him for the Twelve knew how long made him feel oddly detached from his body, as he replayed every recent interaction they’d had and tried to find some kind of tell that he’d missed. How long had it been that she had been harbouring these feelings and he had not noticed?

“And you!” Relle turned to him after running out of steam to give the au ra the dressing down he deserved. Green eyes glittered at him in warning. “Don’t you _dare_ use this to play with her! If I find out you’ve so much as _breathed_ inappropriately in her general direction I will make a Lightwarden seem a tame karakul in comparison!”

“I have no intention to!” He spluttered, offended. What did she think he _was_? Yes, he’d had more than his fair share of women in his time, but he’d never _played_ with them. Some had perhaps misunderstood his intentions, but he had never set out to _hurt_ them.

“Good.” She fumed.

“If I may, though,” he had to know. He was tempting fate by asking, but it was going to eat at him until he knew. “How long has she…?” He let the question hang in the air, unfinished.

Relle gave him a hard stare. Perhaps sensing danger, Arikata excused himself and disappeared into the crowd while the viera’s attention was elsewhere. Thancred almost envied him. Finally, she sighed and turned her eyes to her drink as she drummed her fingers on the tankard. “I’m not sure, exactly. I found out sometime between when we met you in Dravania and when we discovered that Minfilia had become the Word of the Mother.”

Thancred felt the air disappear from his lungs. Even by Astra’s perspective, that had been well over two years ago. A thought occurred to him. “So, that’s why you…”

“Why I stopped going to bed with you?” She finished, giving him a small, melancholy smile. “Yeah. It was fun while it lasted, but as soon as I found out, I stopped.” She took a sip of her drink. “I might not shy away from men in relationships, but even I won’t hurt my best friend like that.” He had wondered, at the time, why she started rejecting his advances. The two of them had enjoyed each other’s company on more than one occasion over the course of their acquaintance, all without strings attached. She, like him, had cared little in the way of attachment and fidelity in favour of a good time. It had suited them both for a time, before she had called things off.

“I mean it, Thancred. Astra’s like a little sister to me.” She gave him a level look, empty of good humour. “If you end up hurting her, I’ll hurt you threefold.”

He gave her an unimpressed look. “I would never. I owe her far too much.” He looked pointedly down into his drink. Neither mentioned the name, but the echo of Lahabrea’s laughter resounded between his ears. While he may not have been conscious during the period of his possession, seeing the destruction the ascian had left in his wake while wearing his face had been wounding. When he had turned to drink to drown out his nightmares, it had been Astra that had soothed his hangovers with her magicks and accompanied him about the Stones on his worst days, an easy presence that never looked at him with pity or expectation. He wondered if she had harboured tender feelings for him then.

Other memories flooded him. In the wake of Minfilia’s departure for the First, she had spent time with him in an easy companionship, never poking or prodding at the wound and trying to get him to give voice to his grief. In the aftermath of her true passing some moons prior, she had held his hand and told him that she wouldn’t ask him if he was alright, but that she was there for him if he needed it. The knowledge that she had spoken out of… of _love_ for him was like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head. What else had she done out of her affection that he’d missed?

He groaned and rested his forehead on the cool wood of the table. This was going to be a problem.

Relle gave a sardonic chuckle. “Yeah, I did that too. Replayed absolutely everything in my head and wondered how many times I’d hurt her without realising it.” She pressed her lips together. “We’ve talked about it. She says she’s never held it against me.”

Thancred snorted. “She’s too good for either of us.” That much was true. Astra was one of the true pure souls in the world. Yes, she occasionally lost her temper, and she sometimes had little in the way of patience, but he had always found her to be one of the brightest spots in his life in recent years.

“I’ll drink to that.” Relle raised her tankard. As he straightened in his seat and mirrored her toast with a wry smile, they were both startled by a shriek from across the Stairs.

“YOU TOLD HIM _WHAT_?!!”

“Excuse me,” Relle growled as she stood from her chair, eyes on Astra and Arikata on the other side of the room, “while I strip the scales from that man’s sorry hide.” Thancred watched her go with no small amount of pity for Arikata. The man _meant_ well, even if his social obliviousness often created problems.

Over her shoulder, he caught Astra’s eye as she cast a look in his direction. Immediately, her face was aflame. She spun on her heel, and—there really was no other word for it— _fled_ from the Wandering Stairs.

Yes, he thought, draining the rest of his drink in one go; this was _definitely_ going to be a problem.

**Author's Note:**

> *flies off into the sun*


End file.
